Hi
I am looking at building some raised veg beds at the front of the house we will be able to have six 6ftx3ft beds with a gap between them sufficient for me get to tend to them they will be on top of very poor soil with a covering of decorative small stones that I do not want to have to move I have no car and the council will charge to move .I have got some decking left over and wondered would this be ok to use and how deep would they need to be to grow carrots, parsnips etc was thinking 12 inch deep would be ok.
Steve

13 Feb, 2012

Answers

Most houses have restrictions on growing veg in the front garden - a hang over from Victorian times when it was a sign of poverty, so some officious ass may make you remove it.

12 inches is fine, but fork over the stones were the raised bed is to loosen the soil and for drainage. Decking boards are fine to use for raised beds - I use old pallets and decking will look a lot better than those! Carrots/Parsnips like sandy soil, so work that into the compost before sowing.

I've had a house that had a covenant stipulating that no veg were to be grown in the front garden - and no laundry hung out there either. It was built in the 1970's so not a Victorian hang-over. I wanted to grow some carrots or french beans in with the stocks and London Pride, just to be contrary.

Amazed but not surprised, the way things are going at the moment ... Unless you are middle class and boring ... my home and garden is open to what my neighbours think when they look over the fence! My rear garden is a vegetable plot - all tidy and clean; not a messy allotment! I have compost heaps tidied in 3 bins, bird feeders and one glory hole in the corner for the twiggy stuff, a shed for tools and a polytunnel for potting up etc. It is spotlessly tidy! But in the middle of a boring estate, I seem to be attracting grumbles about my garden not being 'pretty' ... "there is no lawn, just wood chips" ... though my neighbours are happy enough to accept excess veg at any time, and comment on how many birds and bees I have!! Perhaps I have the last laugh? ... If I am breaking any deed covenants, I really don't care!!

I agree Bilbobaggins in this time of austerity and unemployment we should do more not too sure on the cost though I work for Tesco and the cost of veg has gone crazy in recent weeks and also the quality tends to be a bit poor. Kildermorie I am very surprised as well that people were not allowed to grow veg in the front gardens obviously the law was relaxed during the second word war when people were encouraged to grow anywhere they could and allotments sprung up were ever they was land (Dig for Britain).Thanks for the advise regarding carrot flies never heard of that.

some newestates round here wont even allow a fence round the front garden let alone raised planters etc . the only touble is that at some point the soil next to the soil will rot . its worth giving it a good few coats of preservative and staple some polythene on the inside so the soil isint in direct contact with the soil which will help for a while . be far better if you could get some concret blocks and do a dcourse or two of them and they will last for ages .

I am not in favour of people being stopped from growing veg in their front gardens - I thought that I would highlight a possible problem though. I would prefer raised beds to acres of banal grass. I did notice a house a street up with raised beds and what looks like veg in it - I doubt anyone will say a word or could do anything about it.

i cant see a problem with it at all . i say live and let live . people should be aloud to do what they want as long as it doesnt bother anybody else . growing veg in a starving plannet with bio friendly ie about 8 different wheely bins looks better than a row of collies and some spuds . i think NOT . rediculous red tape bu%$*&^t .

Just a thought, steve, about your soil/compost - can you dig out a 2ft wide x2 foot depth trench for each plot, and over the next few weeks fill the base with your vegetable kitchen waste? Also, soil conditioner from your local tip at £2 per bag (cheaper by the trailer full) mixed in with the trench soil, and whatever john innes no.3 you can afford, will help. I would give parsnips and carrots at least 2ft of compost/good soil, without stones, which would make for some interesting root shapes! If you go ahead with parsnips - bar a hole 12" down, fill with fine compost, plant the seed in the top, one inch below the surface. This stops 'wooding off' at the top of the root.